NEW TECHNOLOGY
Personalising food intake for better health outcomes When business and academia work together, great things can be accomplished. Mike Wheeler explains. It will take up to two years until the technology will go to market.
F
ood processors and manufacturers have a huge say in how food is packaged and labelled, and how that information is presented has changed over time. How food was being produced 60 years ago, differs from 40 years ago, which in turn, differs from today. As we head into the middle part of the 21st century, there are many issues that surround the industry, sustainability and extending shelf life being two, as well as the influx of plant-based proteins that are starting to hit the shelves in supermarkets. Also, what role does
technology play in the way we consume foods, and for that matter labelling, too. From a purely consumption point of view, what goes into our food is also becoming more relevant. Not that long ago, food labels on packaging and tins were rudimentary – a rundown of basic ingredients. Today, there are minute breakdowns that include the amount of sugar, sodium, fats (trans, polyunsaturated etc), energy counts – a mass of information that can help us make an informed decision about what we put in our bodies. However, there is one thing that can’t be labelled – can’t
18 Food&Beverage Industry News | June 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au
be measured before consumption – how will your glucose spike? According to the World Health Organisation, in 1980, 108 million people in the world were suffering from Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. By 2014, it was at 422 million, and by 2045 it is expected to be 700 million.
Is sugar good for you? There has been a myth that if you eat a lot of sugar-based foods, it will increase your chances of getting diabetes. However, sugar itself is not a risk factor, but putting on weight by
eating too many sugar-based foods can be one indicator for getting diabetes in addition to a whole array of other diseases. Thus, the packaging on food labels gives as much information as possible so people can make an informed choice and hopefully help consumers mitigate conditions that might affect them getting the disease. Once you have diabetes, it brings on another raft of issues, the least being checking blood sugar levels on a daily basis by the intrusive finger “prick” method. It is something that has been on
